Grey
by madsin92
Summary: Keikain Ryuuji is an onmyouji hellbent on destroying all yokai. He believes yokai are "pure black" and will never acknowledge "grey" existences. What happens when he encounters an enemy who shows him otherwise..?
1. Chapter 1

The cat lay curled up on the stone slab at the side of the muddy path.

People walked by and the noise had reached an alarmingly loud level. Yet the cat slept on, without a care in the world. It looked a little different from a normal cat- its tail extra long and its colour was dark, seeming to reflect black, blue, purple and red, all at the same time. But under the shade of the trees, one couldn't make this out too well and people had better things to do than worry about the abnormally sleek, yet healthy-looking, weirdly coloured cat. So thought one jobless person, as he looked at the cat.

_Unusual_, he thought. _Could it be a yokai? Maybe I should call those onmyouji to check? _

Still, the cat didn't move at all. If not for its breathing, anyone could have thought it was dead. He sat down next to it. It slept on, as if seeing a long dream.

"Hello?" he murmured. No response. "Are you a yokai cat or something? Are you? What are you doing in a human village in the middle of general population? Don't tell me you're going to eat the villagers in the middle of the night? The strange disappearances are your doings?! But what could a little cat like you do? Or maybe you have another, actual yokai form? I'd like to see that...In fact, if you're a yokai, maybe you can talk? I know a kappa who is pretty friendly...Though he isn't from around here..." He kept on mumbling and went on to talk about more and more mundane topics and it became evident that he was somewhat of a yokai fan.

After talking for a bit, he fell silent. He noticed the cat hadn't moved at all, but its breathing was not that of someone sleeping. It was quicker. Its ears twitched and it seemed it had finally woken up, though it refused to open its eyes.

"Say, are you a male or a female? Maybe I could check..." The man went on to touch the cat when it finally woke with a start and growled at him, baring its abnormally pointed teeth.

"S-sorry! I didn't mean to-"

The cat stretched briefly and sprinted away.

"Hey! Wait!" But it had already disappeared in the crowd.


	2. Chapter 2

"A haunted well? You say it's the work of a yokai?" said the young man. He wore a perpetual frown and looked as if he disliked what he saw and what he heard.

The old lady nodded and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Keikain-kun, you are onmyouji no? Please help me! My grandson is too young, so he gets really frightened! I'm old and I can't really move around..."

The young man sighed and looked at his brother. "Mamiru, you go back to the house and tell them I'll be a little late."

Mamiru nodded and turned, walking away.

"Lead the way granny."

The house was on the outskirts of Kyoto and it was old and looked like it had been around for centuries. It was almost at the point of collapse and the residents would have to fear their roof caving in rather than a well-dwelling yokai which pooped there daily.

"There!" the old lady pointed to the well. It was in a worse condition than the house and it had all sorts of fungi and worms crawling over it.

_For real? They'd die of contamination_, thought the young man.

"We try to clean it, but the monster wrecks it each time!" exclaimed the granny.

"I see. I'll get rid of the little runt. Where's it?" he asked.

On cue, dirt coloured water spouted high into the air from the well and a green coloured frog yokai jumped out. It was the size of a monkey and it was covered in all manner of foul things. The stench soon filled the air and they started to get dizzy.

"Like I'll ever let you catch me!" it screeched and the water shot out in all directions, but instead of touching the ground, it hung in the air, blocking their vision. The yokai seemed to be struggling against some invisible wall.

A voice came out of nowhere. "Ah you little troublemaker. You should put your meager talents to better use. I'll send you where you belong."

There was a flash of bright colours, like a fire, but there was no smoke and no flames. The water finally hit the ground, missing the two humans and the yokai seemed to have vanished.

The onmyouji was busy trying to protect the old lady from having a heart attack and dying right there when he saw it. The figure of a woman. She was walking away, as if dissolving into thin air.

There was smoke now. It blurred his vision, his eyes began to water. The figure was slender, about the same height as him but she had cat ears mounted high on her head and a long tail which swished happily as she walked away playfully.

"Oi, you! Wait!" yelled the onmyouji, pulling out a shikigami container from his overcoat. The figure had already vanished but a soft voice floated to his ears. "Weak yokai that are not even worth killing will be protected. You could go after stronger ones instead. Like me!"

The old lady was freaking out, crying and clinging to him so he couldn't even chase after the voice. "Calm down!" he said to the tiny figure. The smoke had just begun to clear out but the changes could already be seen. The well was clean. There was no sign of the little yokai.

The old lady finally calmed down after seeing this and she thanked him profusely; she had no idea what actually happened.

"Not that I really know either..." he muttered to himself. He refused the money from her and quickly made his escape from the gloomy, dilapidated house and walked to the bus stop, where he had got off with the old lady a little while ago.

Several thoughts came to his mind-the cat-like yokai had saved the yokai from the well. But she had effectively helped the humans of that house too. And she did not pick a fight with the onmyouji. As far as he could tell, she could have eaten the yokai or used some kind of spell to spirit it away. From her words, it seemed to be the latter but the onmyouji didn't believe in words, especially those of a yokai.

By the time he reached back, it was already dark. He was greeted by his younger sister, Yura. She scowled as he walked in through the gate.

"You're late!" she said in an angry tone.

"You don't need to worry so much about your brother," he said, sticking his tongue out. Yura looked flustered and said, "Who'd be worried about a nii-chan like Ryuuji?"

"Oi, oi, you call me Ryuuji right after calling me nii-chan? Where have your manners gone? Is this also because of that yokai friend of yours?"

She was now pissed in earnest. "Nura-kun has got nothing to do with this. Now get in and help with dinner."

"Baaaka, as if I'd help an ungrateful little brat like you," he teased.

Yura stamped her feet in annoyance and said, "You're so mean! One of these days..."

"Yeah, yeah fine. Mamiru got back?"

Yura looked confused. "Wait, I thought he was with you. I was wondering where he was when you walked in..."

Ryuuji's frown deepened. "I'd asked him to come home and tell you guys that I'll be late."

"I see...What were you doing anyway?"

"Some old lady had yokai trouble...Anyway, you check again around the house, see if you missed him. You always slack off, maybe he's here and you just didn't notice."

"As if!" Yura shot at him, but made her way inside anyway to look for Mamiru.

_Is it that cat's doing?_ Ryuuji wondered. Maybe she was something to worry about after all. By the time Yura came to him, panting and clearly having searched everywhere, Ryuuji had gathered some more anti-yokai effects.

Shaking her head, Yura said, "He's nowhere. No one's seen him since the time you left to exterminate that mall yokai."

The older brother scratched his head and thought for a while as Yura regained her breath.

"Maybe he ran into some trouble on the way back. I'll start looking from the place we parted. You stay here and give a call if he returns, ok?"

Yura nodded and said in a small voice, "Come home soon, nii-chan."

Ryuuji looked at his little sister for a moment. She was stronger that him; all set to be the next head of the Keikain house, yet she was friends with yokai. She was innocent and naive, but also reliable and headstrong. He wondered how she'd be as the head...

He shook himself mentally and started to walk towards the gate. "See ya."


	3. Chapter 3

It was almost mid-night. The mall was deserted. Most of it was still under-construction. In the depths was a huge moth-like figure, twice the size of an average human and took up almost the entire width of the hallway. A large cocoon dangled from the unfinished walls in the corner. Sedative fumes seeped from the moth as it looked after the cocoon. The fumes covered the entire floor looking like green mist.

_Soon, _thought the moth. Very soon, its prey would be ripe and ready to be eaten. It would grow bigger and stronger and it would soon be feared throughout Kyoto. Hagoromo Gitsune's Hyakki Yakou had busied itself in reviving its master, and rogue yokai like this moth had settled in, trying to make a place for themselves in the city.

The major problem with this particular moth yokai was that it continuously gave off sleeping gas, so its prey would barely have a chance to fight back or escape. Those onmyouji had put up a good fight but in the end one of them had been marked with the moth's homing spell, which would cause the target to fall unconscious when the moth wished it to. They thought they'd exterminated the yokai but it was sly and it had let one of its children be slain instead and escaped. The onmyouji had fallen for the trap and the one marked by the moth was brought back to the mall. Now it could enjoy the meal in peace. Its cocoon was now steadily turning into a shade of deep pink, the same colour as its wings. It was time.

BOOM! A loud explosion rang through the building and the floor wobbled. A shadow moved through the darkness and came to a stop in front of the cocoon.

"So, this is where you were keeping Mamiru eh? I'm going to have you give him back. Heck, weren't you supposed to be dead already?" said a young human looking at the moth with contempt. A soft buzzing sound was emanating from elsewhere in the building and the boy looked around, trying to locate the source of the disturbance.

"Whatever you're planning, it's not going to work!" he exclaimed and charged. Pulling out a shikigami, he said, "Garou! Devour!" The shikigami shot out, multiplying as it zoomed towards the moth. The yokai screeched and flew upwards and the buzzing grew louder and a swarm of smaller moths burst into the hall, shielding their parent. Several met their end. The rest zoomed around, creating chaos and trying to confuse the onmyouji.

"Heh. Can't you tell, there's more. Right above you!" he said and dived low. As the moth shot downwards fooled by his words, he said, "Gengen, run!"

The moth jerked uncomfortably and fell to the ground. The cocoon was now glowing pink and that was when Ryuuji noticed it. "Mamiru!" he yelled, but he was too far away.

"The moth yokai," said a familiar voice from the shadows. He'd heard the voice before, just this evening. "It's a creature which preys on humans by maturing them in a cocoon. Then, it can decide whether to make it a part of itself and increase its own strength or turn it into these smaller moths which do as their master bids."

Silver flashed in the distance and there was commotion as the colour of fire illuminated the area for a fraction of a second. The moths dropped dead. The cat-like yokai sauntered over to the cocoon and with another flash of steel claws, she slit it open and several things spilled onto the floor, covered in a green fluid.

"Yuck," commented the newcomer, but did not seem disgusted at all. Now all light had disappeared as the moths along with their neon wings had died.

"This one is yours I believe," she said, tossing over a slime-coloured body using her extra long tail. "If you purify it with holy-water, it'll be fine."

"You again, yokai!" asked Ryuuji, taking a battle stance.

"That's right, Onmyouji-san. What's your name?"

"Who the hell cares? I'm going to exterminate you right here, right now! Go, Garou!" he said, and his shikigami turned to face the cat-yokai but she was no longer there.

"Tsk, tsk. This is poor thanks and very bad manners, I must say. You people never change. I just saved your friend here you know. A second longer and you wouldn't be able to call him human."

Ryuuji turned to face the source of the voice and found golden cat-eyes glittering from the broken ceiling. She stood high above and her smile was mischievous.

"All yokai are evil. I don't care why you did that just now. So, shut your trap. Shikigami blending, gyougen!"

Another explosion rang through the building and the air filled with floating flowers. But the cat-yokai was nowhere to be seen. Her presence couldn't even be felt.

"You're not going to fight but run and hide? That's low, but it can't be helped since you're a measly yokai!"

"Run and hide?" came a voice from right next to him. He turned suddenly, jumping back. But there was only empty space. He still couldn't feel the yokai's presence.

"If you can't even catch your prey, how will you ever defeat them?" The voice was solid now and it came from near the remains of the cocoon. A burning smell filled the air and the bodies from the cocoon, along with Mamiru's caught a shimmering purple fire.

"Garou, devour!" Ryuuji shouted and his shikigami hurried towards the yokai but it was not fast enough.

Something was happening. The slime was melting away, and a flame-like haze hung in the air. Soon, the greenish mist disappeared, along with the moth yokai. Mamiru stirred and muttered, "Ryuu..ji..?" He was on the verge of unconsciousness.

"That one will be sleeping for a bit," said the cat yokai, picking up one of the bodies and turning away. "They'll be fine soon enough though." Smoke filled the air, like the time from the old lady's house and the yokai vanished into thin air. Ryuuji tried to make out what was going on but the darkness made it difficult to see.

"Bye bye, Ryuuji. Let's see if you onmyouji can catch me next time," the voice said softly, but it was taunting and playful. The smoke vanished with her and Ryuuji stood fuming._ Who the hell do you think you are, calling me casually by my name, you wicked yokai?_

He realised there was something in that smoke which made him hold his breath and he did not like this one bit. Mamiru seemed to have some trouble breathing also, but soon he fell asleep, still lying on the ground.

Ryuuji knelt next to him and checked his pulse. It was normal. Mamiru seemed to be fine, if a little green in the face. Again, this cat yokai had saved a human. Maybe she had some sort of agenda. She had also taken one of the bodies with her.

"Next time, I'll catch you for sure, no matter how fast you are," he muttered angrily and stiffened as he heard a soft laugh in the distance. When he looked around there was no one there. He hoisted Mamiru up and carried him back home.


	4. Chapter 4

Kyoto was overrun with yokai. Many yokai ran around free, harassing people and the onmyouji had their hands full exterminating them. The yokai ranged from powerful to super-weak and they caused a lot of trouble and hysteria among the people of the city.

Among some of the stronger ones, there was a humanoid youkai named Toramaru. It survived by eating little children and with every capture, it grew bigger and stronger. It was cunning and only targeted orphans and other such children who had no chance of escaping and no one to protect them.

So Toramaru set its trap, aiming for a large catch. The area was relatively small and hidden by trees and people rarely visited. A group of children lived there in an orphanage run by a middle-aged man. On this particular evening, there were twenty seven children, screaming and cowering in their rooms and their warden lay slain in the courtyard.

_It must be a truly fearful sight for these little ones_, thought the young man as he faced the giant in front of him. The little boy behind him clutched at his robes, looking terrified, but this boy was out here for a reason. It seemed he had a "talent". But that alone would not be enough to defeat a yokai like Toramaru.

The man gripped his sword tightly and tried to figure a way out of this situation. He had no abilities for defeating yokai and his skill with the sword would not help him against such an enemy.

An eagle swooped at the monster, trying to attack it but to no avail. The boy shivered and the eagle threatened to disappear.

The yokai swatted at the apparition and it dissolved. The boy shrieked and ran but stumbled and fell.

"What are you doing? It's dangerous, stay behind me!"

But it was too late. The yokai charged-

-and stopped suddenly as though hit by an invisible wall. It reared and slammed against this wall again and again till it fell to the ground; it seemed to have broken through the barrier.

"You'll do," declared a female voice. Everyone looked up to see the source. A cat-like yokai stood on the branch of a nearby tree, grinning ear to ear, like a child presented with candy. She was slender; her hair seemed to be black, blue, purple and red, all at the same time and she was beautiful. The man frowned as he was reminded of the cat he'd seen that afternoon.

The grass surrounding Toramaru burst into dark blue flames and a strange scent filled the air. It made them hold their breath, as though waiting for something to happen but the yokai was affected the most; it seemed to be in a trance. The blue flames were now tinged with red and strange shadows appeared on the walls and on the ground. It was dark and the air was stuffy but the flames didn't seem to actually burn anything. Suddenly a figure emerged from the flames and formed shadows. It looked like the head of a huge cat; it opened its jaws and the burning tongue licked the air. The fire grew stronger and with one swipe, the tongue grabbed the yokai, pulling it into its non-existent throat and all went silent. There was no fire and no yokai. The cat-like yokai was nowhere to be seen. Smoke hung in the air and was slowly dissipating when-

"Splendid!" A man strolled into the courtyard. "That's the first time I've seen that. I believe we haven't met before."

He seemed to have disembarked from a sort of carriage and a bald man was poking his head out of the door. The other man who had spoken nodded to him. He got off the carriage and went into the house which held the other children.

"I'm Keikain Hidemoto, the current head of the Keikain family of onmyouji. Nice to meet you," he said, smiling brightly at the young man and the boy in front of him. He turned to look behind him and the cat yokai stood there, with a frown.

"Keikain, you say?"

"You took care of that troublesome yokai, nice and clean. Thank you~"

"You sure took your time. A little earlier and you would have been able to have it for yourself," the yokai said, crossing her arms.

"Oh dear, and deprive you of your prey? No, no. I simply came to retrieve that little one," said Hidemoto, pointing to the boy clinging to the young man.

"Ah, recruiting are we?" The cat yokai was suddenly all smiles. "That one has guts. He held off that yokai well for his age."

Hidemoto's smile was now uncertain but he replied anyway, "Yes, yes. We'll raise him to be a fine onmyouji. What do you say, little boy? Will you join us and help us defeat these monsters?" He turned to the child, who looked up at the person standing next to him. The man nodded, his dark hair swaying in the breeze. Seemingly reassured, the little boy stumbled over to Hidemoto.

"I'd like to thank you but I believe I don't know your names..."

"Akane, though that's a fake name," said the yokai, grinning.

"I'm Ryuusuke. Please to meet you," said the young man, bowing.

"Well, Akane-san, Ryuusuke-san, thanks for all your help~ Koremitsu-san! We're done for today!" he called out. The bald man literally crawled out of the house- it seemed all the children had managed to latch themselves onto him.

"You may come over anytime for a drink~" he winked, addressing both the yokai and the young man.

The gang got into the carriage and it lifted into the air and zoomed away.

"Whoa..." muttered Ryuusuke, looking at it flying away.

"That man..." grumbled the cat yokai.

"Um, Akane-san? Are you the cat I met this afternoon?" asked Ryuusuke tentatively.

She looked at him and nodded. "Now you know I'm female," she said and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Er...I'm sorry if I made a you angry or something, really, I-"

The yokai burst out laughing. The human looked confused. "Er..."

"It's fine. I don't know why that onmyouji didn't say anything, but you held off that yokai pretty well too. Though, any longer and you'd have been dead."

Ryuusuke seemed to be at a loss for words at her sudden change of mood and mumbled, "Why, thank you..."

She grinned again and said, "See you around. Maybe."

She transformed into a cat and leapt up to the branch of a tree.

"Wait!" Ryuusuke called out.

The cat looked at him one last time and then disappeared into the trees.


	5. Chapter 5

The car door opened and a man got off. He was clothed fully in black and he wore shades even though it was well past midnight. He looked around, as if searching for something. He seemed annoyed and then said, "Are you here?"

There was a rustle of grass and the man spun towards the sound. A huge bag lay at the curb, but the man could have sworn it wasn't there a second ago. He noticed a rope tied around the bag and he stepped toward it cautiously. A voice floated from nowhere, "This is the man you're searching for. You can have him for a price."

"How can I be sure it is him?" asked the man in the black suit.

There was no reply but the rope tightened, causing the man to turn his attention to the bag again. He stared at it for a moment, realising it was heaving, as though something inside it was breathing.

"What's the price?"

"Information. I'd like you to tell me something..."

Mamiru was fine by the time they reached home, just as the cat yokai had said he would be. Mamiru explained that he had fallen unconscious in the middle of the road and the next thing he remembered was Ryuuji carrying him back.

In answer to the questions of the members of the main house, Ryuuji told his tale of the moth, but left out the part about the cat yokai. He didn't feel like admitting he'd never even gotten a chance to fight the demon.

Even after the fox's defeat, yokai were swarming Kyoto and the Keikains were busy rounding them up and making sure none of the citizens got hurt. This proved to be a very difficult task, and the locals now knew of the presence of yokai. Many had witnessed their evil deeds and several had fallen prey.

Along with their extermination duties, the Keikains had to train even harder as the battle with the Nue came closer.

_Only three months now..._Ryuuji mused as he stared out of the classroom window.

As usual, the hot topic of the day was yokai sightings. A few months back, no one really believed in the stories but spoke about them on and off but now a lot of people had actually encountered. Some of his classmates had seen him in action and one of the girls seemed to be particularly fond of him.

"Keikain-kun, what yokai did you slay yesterday?" she said, coming up to him and blushing slightly. He gave a look which said he was clearly not interested in making conversation. She flinched, but kept staring at him.

"A frog and a moth. Though..."

"Hm?"

The bell rang and Ryuuji breathed a sigh of relief.

After school, chattering groups of carefree teenagers walked slowly along the road. The sun was setting, drenching them in flaming red shades of colour.

"Really?! Tell me more!" said one of the girls from Ryuuji's class.

"Oh well," the boy next to her cleared his throat. "You see this yokai is said to be the spirit master! It can communicate with the dead! The downside is, it has a nasty habit of using these apparitions to scare people and it even uses them as shields."

"Ne Keikain-kun, have you heard of such a yokai?" asked the girl.

Ryuuji was walking a few steps behind his classmates. "Humph. I haven't heard of such a yokai. You people believe rumours too much. You should focus on your studies or something," he snapped.

His classmates always thought him to be an unfriendly person, but after the yokai village incident, they looked at him with respect. That didn't change his behaviour towards them at all, so instead they were nice to him while avoiding him at most times.

They resumed their discussion and Ryuuji let his mind wander. Subconsciously, he'd followed the girl right in front of him till the bus stop. He only realised something was wrong when everything went dead silent. All the people had disappeared and a chill spread through the air, giving him goosebumps.

"What is happening? Keikain-kun?" shrieked a voice from next to him. He turned to see his classmate, Asumi, the girl who harassed him everyday standing there. She looked terrified. "Where's everyone? What's going on?!" she pressed.

"No idea. For now, get behind me," he growled, now fully alert. He could sense a strong yokai nearby, but its fear had already diffused into the air, so it was difficult to pinpoint its location.

He pulled out his overcoat from his bag. Putting it on, he retrieved his shikigami containers. Gas spilled out and muttering a few words, he caused it to disperse. Moments later, a fire erupted to his right, a few yards away.

"Show yourself, rotten beast!" he yelled turning to face it.

"What foul words from one who has not even seen my face. Tsk tsk. Tsk tsk tsk. You humans are such brutes. And what was that little spell? Are you one of those damned onmyouji?" The voice was low and it seemed to cause the ground to vibrate.

"Whoever I am, it's not going to change the fact that I will kill you!" roared Ryuuji. He pulled out another shikigami and water burst forth as he yelled, "Shikigami Gyougen!"

The air hissed and the flame was doused. A dull figure appeared in its place.

"Ouch! What the hell are you doing? That huuuurt!"

Because of Ryuuji's attack, the chill reduced and they could clearly see the figure in front of them. It looked like a gargoyle, complete with stony wings. Its black eyes glittered maliciously and a snake-like tongue slithered out of its mouth to taste the air.

"Now, I'm angry...How do I punish you?" There was a sizzling sound, and a ghost-like apparition appeared. It was the form of a human. Turning solid, it took a step towards them.

"Mai...?" whispered Asumi

"Asumi...save me...! Help...me..." a young girl was talking softly and was struggling to reach the place where they stood.

"B-but...You're dead! You died last month!" Asumi shrieked.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm right here! Will you not save me? Release me from the foul demon and then I'll be able to return to life!" said the ghost.

Ryuuji had not been waiting around idly for this conversation to end. He let spill the contents of another container onto the ground and spoke quietly. Noticing this, the apparition turned to him and hissed.

"You got fooled by this yokai but it is just a trick. You see, yokai will kill you when you show even a moment's hesitation. Garou, devour!"

The shikigami shot towards the apparition but missed.

"Humans have such poor aim. Now, the girl over there. Don't you want to save your neighbour? She's still alive you know!"

Asumi was trembling and clearly she had no idea what to do. As though in a trance, she stumbled forward and inched closer to the ghost.

"Save me..." it whispered.

"Mai..."

"Why do you say I missed?" Ryuuji was grinning. The gargoyle yokai was caught unawares, and was attacked by Garou from behind. "My shikigami Garou is a sly one. He can find you no matter where you are. Now be gone!"

The yokai flailed about for a bit and then after a short struggle, it caught its breath. "Heh, you can't defeat me that easily! I'm not eaten after all! Bah!"

"I wonder about that. Oh and by the way, Garou's actually Gengen."

The yokai flopped onto the ground wriggling, as his body fluids raged violently.

"Now to take care of this damn ghost," Ryuuji said and shot a shikigami at it. He yelled the spell and the apparition seemed to tear into two.

Asumi had fallen to the ground, and she seemed to be in shock. Ryuuji grabbed her arm and realised it was ice cold. He helped her to her feet and asked, "You alright?"

"That was...a yokai?"

"You're friend died last month right? How can she be alive? People can't come back once they're dead."

Silent tears ran down her cheeks. Ryuuji looked at her for a moment and finally said, "It'll be fine. I'll take you home."

After walking a step or two, he realised the chill still hung in the air and the scenery had not changed. There were still no people round.

"You thought you could defeat me that easily?!" roared the yokai, appearing suddenly in the sky, its wings beating hard.

Ryuuji stopped dead and looked at Asumi and said, "You stay put. Don't move, or else that filth will get you."

"Haha! You can't beat me!" it yelled and suddenly they were surrounded by the ghosts. Most were unrecognizable, but they spotted some familiar faces. The killings and disappearances had been all over the news in Kyoto. They were still somewhat controlled but many programs and newspapers ran the missing people section. These faces were those of the missing and those of the dead.

"You disgusting demon! Using underhanded tricks like that is fit for scum like you!" Ryuuji was now livid. He was reminded of how, despite the efforts of the onmyouji, the yokai had managed to harm so many people.

He took out another shikigami container and jumping back, he sent the contents flying at the yokai so that it was attacked in a circle. At the same time, he flipped a coin high into the air and yelled another spell and the coin spun horizontally, shooting out flashes of light. The gargoyle dodged them all, only to find that the flashes, like missiles, flew downwards and every ghost that met with them, vanished on the spot.

"Did you kill all these people?" he demanded.

"No, but I like collecting!" The gargoyle was now panting from all the flying around. "Not bad for a human. But there's more where that came from!"

The temperature dropped to freezing cold, and the humans had difficulty time breathing.

Ryuuji had now run out of shikigami and the ones already summoned were struggling in the fight against the apparitions. Asumi, who had previously been shivering due to the cold, had pretty much passed out and her lips were turning blue.

"Oi, hang in there!" Ryuuji took off his jacket and covered her with it. It didn't seem to help much. He felt himself freezing, the cold sinking into his bones.

"Why the hell can you manipulate the weather eh?" he asked the gargoyle yokai that was zooming around in circles in the air.

It stuck its forked tongue out at him and said, "Not telling. You lied to me after all."

Ryuuji did his best to keep the shikigami out but he felt numb. _At this rate, I'll pass out soon..._

There was a strange scent in the air. _I know this smell!_ thought Ryuuji, but his movements had already become sluggish.

A fire started somewhere and spread very soon.

"Oi, what new trick is this?" The flames rose high and licked the gargoyle's belly. "Ouch! Ouch! That burns! Stop it! What are you doing?!"

It seemed it couldn't fly any higher, so it shot downwards and perched on top of a tree.

The moment the flames came in contact with the apparitions, they disappeared. The flames missed Ryuuji and Asumi narrowly and the heat he felt from them was abnormal. He could tell it was hot. But the natural reflex of flinching from the fire did not come. It was as if they were simply looking at bright light.

The fire died out and the temperature stabilized. There was still no one around.

"Who are you?! Show yourself!" roared the yokai.

"As you wish. But I will be the last person you see," said a female voice. A woman appeared in mid-air before the yokai, her arm extended towards the yokai as if she was swiping at it. It was very sudden and the gargoyle had no chance to run or to retaliate. Steel claws sliced through the gargoyle. The yokai seemed confused but a second later, it cracked at several places and burst, its body in stony pieces gradually turning into powder.

The woman now faced them after landing gracefully on the ground. This time, Ryuuji saw her clearly. She had cat ears, an abnormally long tail, a wide grin showing sharp, pointed teeth and cat eyes, glittering gold. She had long, dark hair which reflected several colours as it moved, tied at the very end. She wore modern clothes. If she hid her cat features, she could easily be mistaken for a model or an idol.

So, here was another yokai standing right in front of him. A yokai that he had to defeat. He cursed his body for not having recovered from the frost-bite. "You..."

"That's the third time I helped you, human. Yet you look at me with angry eyes. I guess it can't be helped since you onmyouji are supposed to be yokai's mortal enemies~"

Ryuuji took a deep breath and pulled out his last shikigami from a hidden pocket. "Shut...up!" He said another spell and a ferocious wolf shikigami appeared. His opponent kept smiling at him.

"My other wolf shikigami...His name is Kiba. I wonder whose claws are sharper?" he managed to say. The wolf charged at her but found thin air. "Quit running around you bitch!"

"That poor yokai which you failed to kill was right. You really have no manners, as usual. Does it run in the Keikain blood?"

He turned around with a sharp movement, but the world seemed to spin and he barely managed to hold his ground. She was standing a few yards away. Again he found that he wasn't breathing.

"Quit this nonsense! Kiba, whiplash!"

The wolf charged at her, its claws extended. At the last moment, when it was barely a millimetre away from it target, the wolf bared its fangs, saliva flying out of its mouth. Yet again, it missed its target; the yokai was now standing on top of the lamp post.

"Poison saliva. Its claws are not its main weapon," she said. She was still smiling and it was an innocent smile, she looked like she had seen something very fascinating. "I wonder what else it can do."

Once again the wolf tried to attack, jumping into the air and spraying its poison towards her. This time she didn't dodge. Instead, she clicked her fingers and a tiny red flame appeared and spread in the air, suspended. The poison fizzled out when it met the fire and the wolf could jump no higher.

"Kiba stands for the sharp teeth of a wolf, but you can describe the fang of a snake too. Very clever," she commented as though she was talking about the weather.

"What the hell are you?" said Ryuuji finally. "You only run, why don't you attack?! I'm your enemy, come and fight!"

"How rude, I'm not a 'what', I'm a 'who'. And my name is Arashi. Though that's a fake name~"

"Shut the help up!" Ryuuji yelled at her.

Her face grew stern. "Do you want to die? In your condition, you can't do anything." Her smile came back on. "Better luck next time!" With that, she jumped of the lamp post and disappeared into the trees.

Ryuuji cursed and took a step forward but a meek voice snapped him back to earth. "Keikain-kun? What are you doing?"

The normal surroundings had returned, people strolled by and vehicles honked loudly, eager to get home.

Asumi had regained consciousness. She was sitting on the ground and it looked like she'd witnessed the whole episode.

It was infuriating enough that he'd not been able to deal the final blow to the gargoyle yokai, but this was the third time he was unable to do anything against the cat yokai. She also seemed to know he was a Keikain even though he'd never told her his full name, but this thought didn't occur to him till much later. And now his classmate had seen him, an onmyouji of the Keikain house, getting beaten and losing without a fight.

Asumi wasn't actually concerned about any of that. She looked at her classmate with worried eyes and asked, "Are you ok? You should go home and rest..."

This remark reminded him that he had to help this girl first. "Forget about me. Can you walk? I'll drop you home."

He was in a horrible mood and Asumi was smart enough to not say anything to him. At her doorstep, she thanked him but Ryuuji did not seem to be listening. He just nodded and walked away.


	7. Chapter 7

Dark clouds gathered in the sky and it looked as if it was going to rain soon. Arashi was not particularly pleased; cats didn't like getting wet as it washed away scents and made it harder for them to catch their prey. The cat yokai couldn't deal with water for another reason: her essential element was fire. While normal water posed no threat, holy water and attacks of a water element yokai was something to worry about.

Still, she was very powerful and most yokai meant no danger. Such a being was Arashi, the cat-like yokai.

Today, she walked purposefully through the noisy crowd at the market. The strong scents were overwhelming but she ignored it. Taking a narrow lane hidden in the shadow of a large tree, she encountered a less trodden, muddy path. After a while, she reached her destination.

Even though it was midday, light barely reached this place. It was shrouded in darkness, even more so because of the dark weather. It was the home of several yokai. Most of them hid, because even though it was dark here, outside it was day time, the time of the humans. Come night, they'd rampage and scare them to their hearts' content.

The whole time, she remained in her cat form. Only a formidable yokai or one with acute intuition would be able to discern her real identity and strength.

She was here to look for a certain yokai. She prowled around for a bit, randomly entering bars, shops and houses until she found her target. The moment it sensed her, it freaked and frantically began making its escape. She was faster though, and she caught the rat in her mouth, bit it a little to shut it up and sprinted away, looking for a private place.

Putting the rat down, she fixed her golden eyes on the rat.

"Running, are we?" she said, still in her cat form.

The rat gave her a disdainful look and tried to bolt, but it seemed to be constricted by an invisible wall. "Who are you? What do you want?" it demanded.

"I'm sure you know a certain yokai named Nanamaru. Where is he?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, now let me go!"

"Maybe I will. If you stop lying to me. Tell me, where is he?"

"What do you want with him?" demanded the rat yokai in a squeaky voice.

The black cat laughed heartily and said, "And why would I tell you that? Just spill or else you'll be cat lunch."

The rat struggled more violently for a while as Arashi watched it wriggle. It was a pathetic sight; she took no pleasure in it. Actually, she had no intention of harming this poor thing; she just wanted to know where its great uncle was.

"Fine, fine! Just let me go ok?!"

"Once you tell me everything, you stupid rat," she snapped.

"There is a place in the outskirts of Kyoto. Hidden there is a rat mountain named The Mound; it's a rat yokai village of sorts. He'll be there!"

"Take me to it. I must see it with my own eyes," said Arashi, mentally laughing at how dramatic she sounded.

The rat squeaked some more and finally said, "Fine! Then will you promise to let me go?"

"Sure," said Arashi, smiling. The rat flinched at the rows of sharp, pointed teeth. "Lead the way."

"Poor rat must have been terrified," commented the yokai in a cool voice.

"Yes, it sure was," agreed Arashi. "But it wasn't particularly fun. Pitiful more like."

"I see. Did you find the place?"

"Yes, in fact- Oi! Stop splashing around so much!" said Arashi, glaring at her friend.

"Oops, sorry," said the kappa yokai. "I forgot."

"Sure you did..."

"You were saying?" urged kappa.

The pond was calm and it was a day after Arashi's secret reconnaissance of The Mound. Kappa was doing backstrokes in circles in the water and Arashi sat on a relatively dry rock, watching him in her cat form.

The two had been acquaintances since the time of Nura Rihan and their incompatible elements of fire and water wasn't a barrier. It was a strange combination but neither seemed to mind it.

"Yes. Nanamaru is there for sure. But really, I hate that place! So many rats! Creepy!"

"I thought cats ate rats," commented kappa.

"Yeah, a street cat maybe. I'm not exactly a proper cat am I? As if the stench wasn't bad enough. But still, I have business with that old rat."

"I see," said kappa. "But it seems like this job of yours is pretty strange and taxing. Why are you doing it? There are other ways for you to accomplish your goal," said kappa, swimming up to the bank.

Arashi fell silent and gazed at the water. While fire was her preference, the gentle pond did calm her a bit.

"Maybe because I want to be a part of this world... You'd understand. You're free to be swept away by the current anytime you feel like, but you don't. Why's that?"

"Is that so?" kappa looked at her, cocking his head to one side. "As long as you're not forcing yourself, its fine I guess."

The cat meowed gratefully and stretched.

Even though it was midday, the interiors of the Keikain main house were shrouded in darkness thanks to the heavy grey clouds dominating the Kyoto sky. It was a lazy Sunday, so the young onmyouji of the house were free to do as they wished. There was something about the weather which made them loathe doing anything though.

Yura was talking to the shikigami, Hagun of Hidemoto, the thirteenth head of the Keikain line. He had been teaching her new moves, telling her stories and tips and tricks.

Ryuuji was sitting outside in the lawn under the shade of a large tree, reading a book. Mamiru sat next to him, reading the book too though Ryuuji didn't know if he was actually at the same pace as him.

"I can lend you the book when I'm done," he muttered.

"But I want to read with Ryuuji. I'll know what you know then," said Mamiru.

Ryuuji clicked his tongue in annoyance and gave up trying to shake off Mamiru.

The peaceful day continued like this till an hour after noon when it was disrupted by a commotion at the gate.

A little boy looking dazed had appeared, claiming he was to deliver a letter to the Keikains.

"This is for you," said the boy, staring into space.

"What the heck?" said Ryuuji, marching up to the gate.

"Wait," said Akifusa. "Look at the boy; his gaze is blank, as though under a spell."

"Ok, give me that," said Ryuuji, grabbing the letter and opening it up. Nothing happened. He held the letter and read it out loud.

"_Come if you dare enemies of all yokai. Find us at The Mound and meet the Nanamaru clan's challenge. Obliterate or be obliterated. _What the heck? I've never heard of the Nanamaru clan. What's this mound?"

"The Mound is located outside the city," said a voice. It was the Hagun, Hidemoto."Though I'm not sure exactly what the surroundings look like now. And the Nanamaru clan is very much real."

"Oh? Then let's go and wipe out these insolent yokai," said Ryuuji, a devilish smile appearing on his face.

"Wait," interjected Hidemoto. "This clan is a quiet one that hides out in the mountains and the core group consists of information brokers. They don't pick fights in this manner. Something else is going on here."

"Whatever it is, the matter is worth checking up on. Yura, Ryuuji and Mamiru will do this," said Akifusa. "It will be a stake-out. When you're done, come back and tell us what you saw."

"Eh? Us?" said Yura. "But-"

"Let's go Yura-chan!" said Hidemoto cheerfully. As everyone scattered around, he bent low and whispered in her ear. "There are a lot of interesting things to be learned at The Mound. They may have information about our enemies."

"Are you saying they're _not _the enemy?" demanded Ryuuji overhearing them.

"They are a neutral party really," said Hidemoto. "Their leader, Nanamaru is a friendly enough yokai, but he's not to be underestimated."

"We'll see how friendly he is. Let's go," said Ryuuji.

"Well done," said a raspy voice. "Now we'll put an end to those human scum along with the pests."

"Grateful for appreciation. Honour," came a reply.

"Your way of speaking sure is strange. Well, whatever."

At the sound of metal, the other voice shrieked in confusion, but was cut short due to being cut in half by a long sword.

"Good bye, little friend."


End file.
